BACKGROUND: As information technology evolves rapidly computer-based surveillance systems for nosocomial infection have been developed. Well designed computerized system could provide an opportunity for improving, enlarging, and conducting hospital-wide surveillance more efficiently in the situation with limited resources. Recently, we launched a new computerized monitoring system in a hospital where digital medical information system has been operated without paper chart. METHODS: We developed a new surveillance program based on the total Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. Numerous critical medical information can be easily accessible through this system without further work. This includes major demographic data, essential information from the inpatient medical record, the laboratory information system, and the pharmacy information, Comprehensive Clinical Data Repository (CDR) system was also developed. CDR is potentially very useful to conduct a hospital-wide surveillance by integrating all the available information. RESULTS: This system consists of several programs in the EMR and the CDR environment. In the EMR system, inquiry for patients with fever, case ascertainment and registration of nosocomial infections, inquiry for patients with indwelling devices, microbiological reports, and data on antibiotic prescriptions were included. The CDR has integrated comprehensive inquiries for frequency of major pathogens in clinical isolates and their trends of antibiotic resistance, nosocomial infection rates based on the duration of the devices or hospitalization, and the history of antimicrobial usage based on defined daily dosage. Data obtained from the EMR and the CDR systems could be easily accessed by infectious diseases specialists and healthcare workers of infection control services at any place within the hospital. A new reporting system has been built up to facilitate identification of notifiable diseases among the list of diagnoses on the EMR. In addition, the "Alert" notice was designed to highlight isolation precautions for indicated cases. CONCLUSION: This new computerized surveillance program might be a valuable model to which other hospitals can refer to develop newer version of programs in the future.
Clinical Laboratory Information Systems ; Communicable Diseases ; Cross Infection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Electronic Health Records* ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Information Systems ; Inpatients ; Medical Records ; Pharmacy ; Prescriptions ; Specialization

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The combination of an aging population with a chronic diseased population is leading to an increase in the mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population and to evaluate its related factors for sex differences. METHODS: From April 2007 to December 2008, a total of 2,729 volunteers aged 40-69 years living in Changwon city underwent a clinical examination at a hospital in Changwon, Korea. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed following the criteria defined in Circulation 2009. The clinical examination included measuring anthropometric variables and cardiovascular risk factors, while lifestyle factors were assessed through a questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in our sampling pool was 25.2% with a break down by sex showing a rate of 30.2% in men and 22.2% in women. Related factors associated with metabolic syndrome common to both sex were age, self-health assessment, and alcohol consumption. Sleep duration seemed to be a related factor in men, while income, education, and menstruation status played significant roles in women. CONCLUSIONS: To better manage metabolic syndrome, men need to be educated on alcohol use and women of low socioeconomic status require particular attention as do the aging population and postmenopausal women.
Adult ; Aged ; Aging ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Menstruation ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Sex Characteristics ; Social Class

Mesoblastic nephroma or fetal mesenchymal hamartoma of the kidney is an uncommon congenital tumor of infancy that rarely occurs in adults. This tumor is slow growing tumor considered to originate from renal mesenchyme and is separated this relatively benign lesion from its malignant counterpart, malignant nephroblastoma(Wilms` tumor). We report a case of mesoblastic nephroma incidentally detected left renal mass and treated with radical nephrectomy in 50 years old man.
Adult* ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Kidney* ; Mesoderm ; Middle Aged ; Nephrectomy ; Nephroma, Mesoblastic*

Pulmonary Aspergillomas usually arise from proliferation of Aspergillus in preexisting parenchymal cavities.202 college students (99 men, 103 women) aged 18% 26 years. Fasting blood samples were. The most common symptom in this disorder is hemoptysis, which may be minimal in amount or it may be massive & life threatening. The optimum therapy for pulmonary aspergilloma is controversial. The major options available include surgical resection of the lesion, a number of medical therapies, or simple observation of the patient for a time. Surgery is the most effective treatment but it is limited to some patient because most patients haute underlying pulmonary disease. Thus the various form of medical therapy was available with successful result. The authors present a case of percutaneous intracavitary amphoterician B injection for the treatment of pulmonary aspergilloma & its successful effect for the repetitive hemoptysis.
Amphotericin B* ; Aspergillus ; Fasting ; Hemoptysis* ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Male

Background: Health disparity is defined as a difference in the accessibility of medical resources among regions or other factors. In South Korea, there might be a disparity because of the low proportion of public medical institutions. This study aimed to investigate the geographic distribution of rehabilitation treatment and examine the factors associated with the rates of rehabilitation treatment in Korea. Methods: We used administrative claims data in 2007, 2012, and 2017 from the National Health Insurance Database in Korea. We defined physical therapy and occupational therapy as rehabilitation treatments and analyzed the rate of rehabilitation treatments for administrative districts in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Interdecile range and coefficient of variation were used to investigate the geographic distribution of rehabilitation treatment over time. We applied multiple random intercept negative binomial regression to examine the factors associated with rehabilitation treatment. A total of 28,319,614 inpatient and outpatient claims were submitted for 874 hospitals that provided rehabilitation treatment in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Results: The increase in the mean rates of physical therapy inpatients and outpatients was greater than those for occupational therapy inpatients and outpatients from 2007 to 2017. Both physical therapy and occupational therapy were concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area and other large urban areas. More than 30% of the districts received no rehabilitation treatment. The interdecile range and coefficient of variation for physical therapy declined more than those for occupational therapy from 2007 to 2017. The deprivation index was negatively correlated with physical therapy inpatients, physical therapy outpatients, occupational therapy inpatients, and occupational therapy outpatients. Furthermore, a 1-unit increase in the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people was associated with 1.42 times higher physical therapy inpatient, 1.44 times higher physical therapy outpatient, 2.14 times higher occupational therapy inpatient, and 3.30 times higher occupational therapy outpatient treatment. Conclusion To reduce the geographic inequality in rehabilitation treatment, it is necessary to narrow the gap between the supply and demand of rehabilitation services. Providing incentives or direct provisions from the government might be an alternative.

Spinal arachnoid cysts are a rare disease with an unknown origin. Because of their broad base, a total laminectomy with or without fusion has been the treatment of the choice. We encountered 5 patients with a spinal arachnoid cyst who were treated by recapping laminoplasty after pars osteotomy. This procedure has not been reported in Korea. All patients showed neurological recovery with no recurrence of the cyst. The findings on the stressed plain film confirmed bony union and stability of the posterior element.
Arachnoid ; Arachnoid Cysts ; Humans ; Korea ; Laminectomy ; Osteotomy ; Rare Diseases ; Recurrence

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase deficiency. The characteristic clinical features are syndactyly of the second and third toes, facial dysmorphism, multiple malformations, and intellectual disability. Few cases of SLOS have been reported in Korea. We observed a male patient with SLOS who presented with typical facial features, undescended testes, microcephaly, bilateral syndactyly of the second and third toes, and cardiac defects, including patent ductus arteriosus and atrial septal defect. Mutation analysis of the DHCR7 gene identified compound heterozygous mutations of c.907G>A (p.Gly303Arg) and c.1055G>A (p.Arg352Gln). In a review of the literature, c.1054C>T (p.Arg352Trp) was the most common mutation reported in Far East Asian countries. This report describes the clinical features, biochemical data, molecular characteristics, and clinical outcome of a Korean patient with SLOS.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cryptorchidism ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Far East ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Korea ; Male ; Microcephaly ; Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome* ; Syndactyly ; Toes

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is characterized by the remittent or progressive accumulation of lipid-rich proteinaceous material within the alveolar sacs in the absence of inflammatory response. Whole-lung lavage is the only consistent treatment for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. We have utilized whole-lung lavage for the successful treatment of a 62 year-old female patient with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. There was no persistent complication during the procedure and the postanesthetic recovery except temporary fever and hypoxic event. The patient was symptomatically, physiologically, and radiologically improved within days after the procedures.
Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis* ; Therapeutic Irrigation*

PURPOSE: To assess the CT and histological findings after cryoablation in the normal lung of rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After performing chest CT on rabbits, we inserted a cryoneedle toward the lower lobe of the right lung. We performed percutaneous cryoablation that was composed of freeze-thaw-freeze cycles (25 minutes) for group 1 animals and one cycle of variable freezing time (10-20 minutes) for group 2 animals. We measured the longest (Dl) and shortest diameter (Ds) of the ablated zones that were determined after cryoablation for all of the CT images. After cryoablation, we performed a pathological examination. RESULTS: The mean Dl and Ds of the ablated zone was 28.1+/-3.9 mm and 16+/-1.6 mm, respectively, for group 1 rabbits. For group 2 rabbits, the mean Dl and Ds was 28.7+/-6.3 mm and 14.4+/-3.8 mm, respectively, for one cycle of 20 minutes freezing time. Based on the histological findings, the ablated zone was composed of a necrotic, hemorrhagic, and inflammatory area, in order from the center to the outside. Although each area was well differentiated in group 1 rabbits, only freezing for one cycle of 20 minutes for the group 2 rabbits gave the same results as for the group 1 rabbits. CONCLUSION: A total freezing time of at least 20 minutes and two more freeze-thaw-freeze cycles might be important factors for providing a sufficient area of the ablated zone and uniform necrosis during cryoablation.
Animals ; Catheter Ablation ; Cryosurgery ; Cryotherapy ; Freezing ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Necrosis ; Rabbits ; Thorax

PURPOSE: The primary objective of the current study was to investigate the characteristics of synchronous cancers in gastric cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the 2,237 patients who were diagnosed between December 2000 and December 2003 with gastric cancer and synchronous cancers of organs other than the stomach. RESULTS: 73 (3.3%) of a total of 2,237 gastric cancer patients had synchronous primary cancers. Among these 73 patients, 71 had one synchronous cancer, and two patients had double synchronous cancers. Colorectal cancer (26 patients, 34.7%) was the most frequently encountered synchronous cancer, followed by cancer of the lung (16 patients, 21.3%), esophagus (13 patients, 17.2%), and liver (8 patients, 10.7%). Synchronous can-cers were detected with increased frequency in the elderly, in the patients with multiple gastric cancers, in the patients with differentiated gastric cancer, and in the patients with early gastric cancer, as determined on univariate analysis, but the differentiation of gastric cancers was the only risk factor for synchronous cancers on the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The differentiation of gastric cancer cells may be a risk factor for synchronous cancers in gastric cancer patients. Careful surveillance by the physician for synchronous cancer is warranted for the patients suffering from gastric cancer.
Aged ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung Neoplasms ; Multivariate Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*